Around the Globe

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman over the disappearance and alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished two weeks ago during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in

British prime minister Theresa May will face mounting pressure to rethink her plan for leaving the European Union after Brexit talks reached a stand-off at the weekend over the so-called Irish backstop.

Less than six months before Britain leaves the bloc and days before May heads to Brussels for a summit on Wednesday when both sides hope to make progress, the Brexit talks were paused on Sunday after the two sides failed to agree on how to deal with the United Kingdom’s only land border with the EU. May was to make a statement to parliament later on Monday.

Saudi Arabia warned on Sunday it would retaliate against any sanctions imposed on the oil-rich kingdom over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the Riyadh stock market suffered its worst plunge in years.

From tech tycoons to media giants, a host of Western companies are now distancing themselves from the Gulf state, imperilling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s much-hyped economic reform drive.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia to release footage of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump demanded answers over his fate, and close ally and trade partner Britain warned of “serious consequences” as the kingdom faced growing pressure on Thursday to provide a convincing explanation for his disappearance.

The Washington Post, the daily to which Khashoggi was a contributor, added to the mystery by reporting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered an operation to “lure” the critical journalist back home.

Switzerland’s highest court ruled on Wednesday that prosecutors cannot extend Swiss banking secrecy rules to all corners of the globe to pursue whistleblowers.

In a case drawing international scrutiny, the Federal Supreme Court by a 3-2 majority rejected an appeal by Zurich prosecutors in the case involving former private banker Rudolf Elmer, who denied all the charges.

China will sell 48 high-end armed drones to its “all-weather ally” Pakistan in what a military observer said will be the largest deal of its kind. The cost of the major defence deal was not revealed.

Wing Loong II is a high-end reconnaissance, strike and multi-role endurance unmanned aerial system, capable of being fitted with air-to-surface weapons. It is roughly equivalent to the American MQ-9 Reaper drone. The drones will also be jointly manufactured by China and Pakistan, state-run Global Times reported.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ready to allow international inspectors into the North’s nuclear and missile testing sites, one of the main sticking points over an earlier denuclearisation pledge.

Pompeo, who met Kim during a short trip to Pyongyang on Sunday, said the inspectors would visit a missile engine test facility and the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site as soon as the two sides agree on logistics.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to arrange a second summit “as soon as possible,” and discussed potential US inspections of North Korean nuclear sites, South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in held talks with Pompeo in Seoul after the top US diplomat met with Kim for more than three hours during a short trip to Pyongyang that was aimed at breaking a gridlock in their nuclear talks.

The jig’s up. It's time for Theresa May to stop dancing around and get down to the business of negotiating Brexit, Europe warned on Thursday. Impatient EU leaders had grudgingly allowed time for the British prime minister to win over her own Conservative Party conference this week.

British prime minister Theresa May appealed for her bickering party on Wednesday to unite at the “toughest phase” of negotiations aimed at averting economic chaos once Britain leaves the European Union in six months. May danced a little jig to the strains of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” as she approached the podium for her address at the ruling Conservative Party’s annual gathering. It was a self-deprecating dig at the ribbing she got for her robotic dancing during a visit to Africa.